


In Trying Worlds, Each Other

by Cosmic_Biscuit



Category: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Crossover, F/F, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-17
Updated: 2011-11-17
Packaged: 2017-10-26 05:08:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/279043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cosmic_Biscuit/pseuds/Cosmic_Biscuit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They're stranded in new bodies, in a new world, and almost everything is against them getting home. Almost.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Trying Worlds, Each Other

In hindsight, Rarity thought as she and Twilight blocked the first avalanche of rock, they really should have expected this trip to be more difficult. It was their own fault for being lured in by the lack of traps at the beginning of these labyrinthine tunnels.

All the same, that didn't make her any less angry when one of the guardian statues suddenly grabbed her, breaking her concentration on the shield. " _Put me down_ , you-"

She didn't get the chance to finish before it complied in the worst possible way, flinging her full force across the cavern. Something caught her by the back hooves, and she briefly caught a glimpse of long, pale pink hair before another rockfall knocked their slowing descent off course and sent them crashing into the pedestal of the very jade artifact they'd come to find.

For a moment she thought she heard the others calling out over the roaring of the rock slides, then everything went up in a flash of milky green light.

 

***

 

Her own violent sneeze woke her up, and after a second, she realized the tickling feeling was golden feathers. "Fluttershy, darling, your wing," she mumbled weakly. Ugh, her mouth felt strange. It was hard to talk.

"Sorry," came the faint reply, and the wing over her face folded and shifted aside, unveiling a brilliant flood of sunlight through the trees overhead. ...Trees? Had the others carried them out of the caverns? She couldn't hear anything but a few birds and the breeze in the leaves, but surely their friends must have been around somewhere.

Trying to move her head brought a fresh stab of pain, causing the sunlight and shadows above her to swim. Wincing, she lifted a hoof to cover her eyes.

Wait...

Hooves didn't split like that. And the split parts curled individually when she tried to bend it. As panic started to make her more conscious of her body, she could feel other changes without seeing them. Her hind legs were the wrong shape. Her beautiful white coat was gone, replaced by some kind of itchy cloth. Her tail was gone. _Her horn was gone_ , and in its place she could feel something else pressing against her forehead.

 _What_ in the name of Celestia's glorious fashion sense was going _on_?

"Fluttershy? Do you... feel odd?"

"My wings are really heavy," the other mare said, voice muffled. "I can't even roll over."

She was able to turn her head just enough to see just as Fluttershy lifted hers. Despite the uncomfortable newness of their bodies, both managed to skitter away from each other, screaming, the second that they got a good look.

 

***

 

The sun was beginning to go down by the time they had recovered enough from the shock to take stock of what was going on. Aside from some scratches and bruises, they were in remarkably good shape for having apparently fallen to their current location. Which, as far as they could tell, wasn't anywhere in Equestria. Everything grew wild like the Everfree Forest, but there was so little... _familiar_ about it. And there was the obvious, of course, that they were now trapped in these new shapes.

Moving in them, without adrenaline to fuel it, proved to be an experimental process. They'd quickly learned that walking on all fours like they usually did just wasn't going to be done. Besides hurting their backs and front hooves, poor Fluttershy's huge new wings sent her into the mud every time she tried.

Not that walking on their hindquarters alone was proving any easier, Rarity mentally amended as she quickly grabbed the other mare's foreleg and sleeve to keep her from pitching backwards. "Okay. I believe I have _my_ balance now, so just lean on me until you adjust to those, all right?"

"Okay," Fluttershy replied, wrapping both forelegs around one of her friend's, and they gingerly set out. Neither had the slightest clue where they were going, but with their stomachs roaring and night coming, they needed to find food and shelter _somewhere_.

"Rarity, I see lights over there," Fluttershy said after they'd been walking for well over an hour. Looking in the direction the pegasus pointed, Rarity could see them too. And the faint shape of houses. Oh, thank Celestia. Maybe their luck was finally changing. Carefully shifting their positions, they turned and headed that way.

When they broke the treeline, they found themselves in a small town of sorts. Beside the houses, huge, strange-looking metal carts lined the roads, which were covered in some sort of hard stuff that hurt their hooves. And there were more ponies whose bodies matched their new shapes... only they all had dull mane colors, and no wings. And every one they passed either stared, open-mouthed, or glared at them hatefully.

"I don't think I like this place," Fluttershy murmured, edging closer.

"They certainly don't seem to be the friendliest of hosts," Rarity agreed quietly, then started when Fluttershy jumped with a small cry of pain. Looking over her cringing friend's shoulder, she saw the ruffled spot in her left wing where something had hit, and then a rock on the ground. Then looked up to see several ponies armed with more, and other things they were ready to throw.

Seeing red a little, she found her magic at least still worked, and picked up the rock that had hit Fluttershy before ripping the rest out of the hooves of their followers. "I am only giving one warning," she said flatly, turning all sharp objects to face out as she collected the mess in a sort of protective bubble around them. "The next one who throws _anything_ at her will get it back _with interest_."

Their original quest for food and shelter abandoned in favor of getting the hay out of there in one piece, she cuddled Fluttershy closer and they made their way towards the nearest trees. They ignored the glaring ponies as best they could, even the ones that had odd camera-like objects. As they passed a darkened house, however, Fluttershy suddenly yanked her back, and Rarity felt something small and smelling of smoke and metal breeze past her face. Glancing to her right, she saw another pony armed with a strange sort of weapon that was smoking; the clear culprit. Picking a knife out of their protective shell, she buried it into the smoking end of the weapon so he couldn't use it on them again.

They finally managed to reach the next patch of forest, and all the objects she'd collected fell into a harmless heap at the treeline as they took to the shadows.

 

***

 

They ended hiding under the trees, and Rarity magically altered the branches as much as she could to provide them shelter. However, there wasn't much in the way of food to be found. They didn't have a way of telling what was and wasn't poisonous here, or if something they'd been able to eat as ponies would make them sick now. Worse than that, everything was soaked from a recent rain, and they couldn't even manage a small fire. In the end, they'd given up on eating or a campfire and had just huddled together, cold, hungry, and dirty, under their makeshift shelter to try and sleep.

Rarity ended up waking just as the sun was beginning to peek over the horizon. Still exhausted and aching, she raked disheveled hair out of her eyes and looked around. For all their hither-to uncomfortable experience, this forest was actually quite pretty at the break of dawn. It would have been an ideal setting to practice...if she'd had the arrows. And they weren't stranded somewhere unfamiliar. And hiding from hostile natives.

'So much for the happy thought', she mentally lamented with a sigh, then leaned over to shake Fluttershy awake so they could get moving.

Morning's luck favored them a little more than the evening had. They found a stream that was relatively good for drinking and getting all the mud and twigs off. She was rather pleased to see that the damage to Fluttershy's wing had only been superficial, and the other mare happily splashed as she groomed all of her feathers clean and back in order. A brush would have been a most helpful thing right now for her own mane, but she chose to let it go. They still were in need of food, after all.

Once their clothes had dried, they followed the stream and came upon what looked like a small farm. "Stay here," Rarity said.

"Where are you going?"

"To get us something to eat, of course."

"Oh, dear. What if someone starts throwing things again? Or worse?"

"Not to worry, darling. I have a plan."

Leaving Fluttershy behind, she carefully snuck up to the main house, peeking in windows until she found the kitchen. She didn't necessarily like the idea of having to use her magic to steal, but this was a question of survival. It took a few tries to figure out how the latches on the window worked, but she succeeded and carefully raised it.

Then froze at a sudden growl from behind her. Quickly turning and ducking down, she found her adversary was a rather large dog. It was chained to a house its size, but that didn't make its size any less scary. "Um, good dog..."

She squeaked when it started barking at her. Uh-oh. Think fast, before its noise brought its masters. Looking through the window again, she saw a large bag with a dog face on it. Whatever was in there would do, and she activated her magic, yanking out several large treats that looked like bones. The offering seemed to pacify the beast, so she let out the breath she was holding and leaned over the windowsill to get a better look.

Evidently, someone was going on a trip, as there was a book of maps and a dictionary spread out on the table. Those had the possibility of being useful in figuring out where and what they were. Carefully lifting those, as well as some bread and fruits from the counter, she gathered them all close to her in a small enough 'bundle' that they could be easily carried, and fled back to the forest.

She found Fluttershy back at their hiding spot, hovering a few feet off the ground as she desperately struggled to keep flapping. Unable to keep herself from smiling in approval -despite the strained look of concentration, the other mare's new form really did look quite cute in the air- she laid her burdens down and waited to be noticed. Finally, Fluttershy saw her and dropped back to the ground, winded from the exertion. "It takes... a... lot more effort... but at least I can still fly," she said, gasping.

"Well, that's certainly a good thing. I was beginning to worry that you wouldn't be able to use them at _all_ ," Rarity replied, gesturing invitingly to the food.

They studied as they ate, and while the map turned out to not be the advantage she'd hoped for, the dictionary at least was useful. They were now 'humans', apparently. Their split hooves were 'hands' or 'feet', with 'fingers' or 'toes'. Their forelegs 'arms', and their hind legs simply 'legs'. Other definitions were much more awkward, though, and they breezed past them as quickly as possible.

"All of the names in here are quite...boring," she murmured as she flipped past some pictures. "These humans have no flair for the dramatic at all."

"Maybe we should pick some too, in case we run across more of them," Fluttershy said after swallowing a bite of bread. "I don't really want to lose mine, but we already stand out too much."

"I suppose you're right," Rarity admitted. "But all of these names are for colts- er, 'men'. How will we know what to use?"

Neither had much of a good answer, and the food was gone, so they continued their way downstream.

 

***

 

The sun was high in the sky when they both heard the strange noise. A kind of whooshing and rumbling. "What is _that_?"

"I haven't the slightest idea," Rarity said, then they both stopped short when they came to a clearing and found some sort of huge... metal bird sitting on the grass. And making that noise. Then there was another sharp screech and a much smaller figure shot out of the bird and took to the sky. Then the bird's back end opened and a human man and some sort of fluffy blue creature stepped out of it. "Stranger and stranger," she murmured. She could feel Fluttershy shaking, and she wasn't necessarily of the bravest nerve herself right now. Especially not when the blue creature suddenly looked _right at them_.

Before they could choose to flee or speak, the creature pulled out a small box thing. "Come on back, Sean, we've already found them," it - _he_ , if the voice was any indication- said into it. Then he smiled, the expression oddly reassuring despite the teeth. "Hello, girls. We've been looking for you."

"U- us?" Fluttershy asked. "Why?"

The human of the two snorted, and Rarity glared at him. The furry one moved in front of him to ward off any confrontation. "Your incident with the mob is already on the news-" he started to explain. Rarity tried to listen, but as he talked, she was becoming aware of a strange, uncomfortable pressure in her head, like something was actually _pushing_ on her brain. She felt her arm lock up, then glanced down to see her fingers twitch without her bidding. She felt the familiar tickle of her magic activating, but she hadn't willed it. What was-

Something in her brain _clicked_ , and all of a sudden, it was like she was merely a passenger in her own body, watching it all play out from the inside. The human and furry creature took defensive positions as the tree behind her suddenly exploded into malleable shards and slivers of wood. Fluttershy was screaming something, but the presence controlling her body muted it. Then she heard a different screaming noise and 'looked' up to see a small incoming figure. The one that had left the bird first.

The wood shards warped and reformed, and she felt them aim, then the sickening realization of what was about to happen washed over her.

"Breathe," she heard her own voice say.

'No!' she screamed uselessly.

"Pull."

 _'No!'_

"Release."

Her scream was wordless this time as she saw hundreds of arrows take dead aim at the figure, shredding his wings before he plummeted from the sky.

Then everything went red before she blanked out.

 

***

 

Fluttershy knew something was wrong the instant she saw Rarity's expression go empty, even before the tree burst. That just wasn't a face her friend made. And neither was the cruel smile that crossed her face as the floating pieces began reshaping themselves. "Rarity? _Rarity_! Please stop! Whatever's happening, _you have to sto_ -"

The first volley of arrows was unleashed, and she stared in shock as they found their mark. Before she could recover from that, she heard a low humming noise and saw the human male charging up some kind of fireball. And Rarity was readying another salvo in the direction of her two new targets.

Oh, Celestia, this was getting worse by the second.

"Alex, no!" the blue one snapped, but the human clearly wasn't in the mood to listen, and she barely managed to react quickly enough to keep her friend from being fried on the spot. For once, fear loaned her strength, and as she clutched her friend against her chest, she flew as fast and hard as she could manage. She didn't particularly care where they went, as long as it was anywhere but that clearing or the town.

They finally crashed through a thicket of brambles when her wings would no longer keep them aloft and her back was screaming in pain. She managed to at least drag them away from the thorny branches and onto some softer moss and grass before collapsing, gulping in air.

The smirk had gone when she'd recovered enough to check on her friend again, replaced by the blank stare from before. "Oh, _please_ wake up," she said, tentatively shaking the other girl. The reaction she got wasn't what she expected, as Rarity suddenly sucked in a huge gasp of air before starting to scream. Ignoring the way it hurt her ears, Fluttershy flung her arms around Rarity, holding her tightly until the screams subsided.

Still badly shaking, with tear streaks down her face, Rarity finally looked down at her hands. "Oh," she said with a nervous, broken little giggle. "I'm me again."

"You're you?" Fluttershy asked, and Rarity scrubbed her eyes with the backs of her hands.

"Oh, it was _horrible_. I kept trying to make myself stop, but it was like something was _forcing_ me to act, and I couldn't control it at _all_ , just watch it happen, no matter how hard I tried-" her friend looked up with the most heartbreakingly pleading expression, clearly on the verge of new tears. "You believe me, don't you?"

Fluttershy bit her lip, and instantly thought of the fashion show that Twilight had tried to help her sabotage. Even having _agreed_ to the plan, having her body act outside of her own will had been a uniquely uncomfortable experience. And if that was what happened _here_... She gave her friend a tight, fierce hug, protective instinct beginning to rear up. "Of course I believe you."

Rarity briefly started to relax a little, before tensing up again. "Oh, no. No, no, no. That colt, is he-"

"I don't know," Fluttershy admitted, not willing to correct the other mare's terms this time. "One of the other two attacked us, and I had to get us out of there." She also wasn't willing to bring up the fact that whatever had been controlling Rarity had been ready to go after the rest of the strangers as well. Rarity looked for a moment like she was going to cry again, so Fluttershy just kept holding on, petting her mane reassuringly.

It was already beginning to get dark again when they were able to get back on the move. Even though Fluttershy's back and wings were still in pain, she didn't want to have to ask her friend for assistance. However, the fact that she was still badly rattled seemed to have not completely dulled Rarity's perception, as after a few unsteady steps, Fluttershy found herself presented with a foreleg to lean on. Grateful for the offer, she kept quiet about the faint tremors she could feel in her friend's hoof, but she was still concerned.

 

***

 

The stars had come out by the time they broke through the trees again, to find a small cabin. A long-abandoned one, if the holes in the roof and the overgrown plants all over it were any indication. Still, it was shelter, and one they didn't have to make themselves. Finding the lock rusted enough to be easily broken, they made their way in to explore.

There was no food to be found in the kitchen or pantry, or at least not anything that was still fit for consumption, but Fluttershy found some worn, but still usable bedding and a couple of portable mattresses buried in a closet. Shaking them out and arranging everything into a passable bed in one of the few rooms without roof holes, she went looking for her friend.

She found Rarity outside, glaring darkly into a well near the edge of the clearing. "No water?"

"Apparently not. And even if there _was_ , this rope is hopelessly rotted. We'd have no way of getting any."

There was _one_ way, but it was currently on the list of things Not To Be Discussed. Fluttershy took hold of her companion's hoof. "Come on," she murmured gently. "We can look for food after we get some sleep." Rarity still looked miffed about the empty well, but nodded and followed.

Fluttershy made a grateful noise as she laid down on her side in the makeshift bed, stretching her wings out behind her to get the kinks out of the joints. Then the sigh turned into a faint squeak as Rarity sat down and began gently kneading knots out of the muscles. "Oh, thank you."

"Considering you're the reason I'm not dead, it's the least I can do, really."

Something in the tone of the other mare's voice worried her, and Fluttershy reached back, taking hold of Rarity's foreleg. "Come get some sleep. It's not so bad that it can't wait until morning."

There was a brief pause, and Fluttershy worried Rarity might fight her on it, then her friend sighed and got up. Relieved, she let go, and shifted to make a little more room on their bed.

"Do you think Sweetie Belle and Opal are all right?" Rarity asked as she laid down.

"I'm sure they are," Fluttershy said, though to be honest, she'd had the occasional concerned thought about her animals as well. "I don't think Apple Bloom and her family would let them go hungry."

"You're most likely right," Rarity replied. Trying to ignore the grumbling in their own stomachs at the mention of hunger, they cuddled close together to sleep.

 

***

 

Raven was beginning to think that Erik sent her on these assignments as more of a janitor than a recruiter. She'd certainly done _more_ than her fair share cleaning up after Frost's methods, after all.

"Your face will stick that way," the woman in question said, no actual humor in her voice as Azazel's smoke dissipated to reveal a dilapidated cabin. "You shouldn't scowl so much."

"I distinctly remember that Erik's orders were not to cause any unnecessary damage," Raven replied flatly.

" _Magneto_ also said that mutants who've been isolated tend to be more receptive to our side of things," Frost replied airily. "As you can see, I've done quite well at isolating our targets, and thus no damage was unnecessary."

Biting back the sarcastic reply that threatened to well up in her mouth, Raven shifted back from borrowed form to natural as she pushed open the door. If McCoy could have confronted this pair as he was, then she certainly wasn't going to go hiding herself. Finding a chair that didn't have too many loose springs, she sat down as Frost sent a quick mental nudge to bring in one of those they'd been tracking.

What was left of the bedroom door cracked open, and the girl with long pink hair and golden wings approached, rubbing her eyes sleepily before she noticed them. Then she blinked at them, feathers ruffled in startled surprise beginning to settle back down. "Er-"

Not wanting to scare the poor girl any more than they already had, Raven made a faint wave when she glanced in her direction, and the girl nervously returned it. "What's your name?"

"U-um... how... did you find us?" Pink Hair asked instead.

"Well, it wasn't very hard, after your incident with those X-Men," Emma replied, folding her arms.

"Those what?"

"Opponents are all you really need to call them, child. After all, considering the way they were willing to _kill_ you with so little provocation, they're hardly worth dealing with."

Even though it wasn't directed at her, Raven could feel the pushing behind Frost's words, and something in the air seemed to change. "Provocation..." Pink Hair said, her expression unreadable, then she glanced timidly at Frost through the curtain of her hair as she seemed to realize something. "O- oh. That... that was you." Her voice had gotten so quiet that a normal human would have had to strain to hear.

Raven felt the tension in the room suddenly heighten, but she still wouldn't have predicted what happened next. There was a sudden audible _crack_ and Frost was lying on the floor, her cape a white puddle around her as Pink Hair stood over her, pale gold wings flared out to their full span. "You do not touch my friends," Pink Hair said, every word careful and precise. _So_ precise that the cold expression on her face and her shaking hands balled at her sides were a little scarier. "They are _important_ to me. And after what you've done, if I find you have so much as directed an unkind thought about Rarity's hair at her, you will not leave where I find you. It doesn't matter what your powers are. Understand?"

Poorly trying to hide her amusement at the incensed look on Frost's face, Raven intervened before the situation could go any further downhill, lightly putting a hand on Pink Hair's shoulder. The girl stiffened, then seemed to deflate a little, giving no sign that she was about to attack further. "I fully understand you being upset at my companion's poor lack of judgment," Raven said as Frost picked herself up and dusted herself off. "But we _are_ here with a serious offer."

"I- ... I can't," Pink Hair said quietly. "What- whatever you're offering... th-the answer is no. N-not after what happened to Rarity. We just want to go home. That's all."

"Of course," Raven said, giving the shoulder under her hand a little squeeze. "If you go about two miles east, you'll find the river again. That should help you get your bearings."

"Th-thank you."

 

***

 

Charles arrived home from Louisiana at around two in the afternoon, a new student in tow, and having been at least partially informed of the previous day's fight of sorts. "How is he?" he asked Hank as he wheeled into the infirmary hallway, having sent the new boy with Alex to get acquainted with his new room.

"Fine enough to swear about it, but still not in the best of shape," McCoy replied as they headed down to peer in the window of Sean's room. "Three cracked ribs, a minor concussion, and a lot of scrapes and bruises."

"You said a potential was responsible?"

"A telekinetic, apparently. Late teens to early twenties, a pretty damn good amount of control already, considering _these_." Hank handed him a wooden arrow, and he examined it critically. The smoothness of the wood and the fine dexterity in the crafting of it _were_ quite impressive. "We retrieved several dozen, all in this shape."

"Aside from the fact that you were fired on at all, did you notice anything... particularly _odd_ about the encounter?"

"Hn..." Hank scratched absently at his chin in thought. "Now that you mention it, when I was trying to explain the situation of us being there, she just sort of went... blank. Not like the way Alex does when he's intentionally ignoring me. More like the lights were on, but nobody was home. And then next thing we know, she's smiling and blowing up trees to kill us with, and her friend with the wings is screaming at her to wake up."

Charles turned the arrow over in his hands, thinking. As much as he would have liked to say he knew nothing about the subject, that description sounded like a rather textbook -or would have been textbook if there was a book on the subject- case of forced control via telepath. And along with the creator's, he could feel the ghost of Emma's hand in the arrow he held. Which meant that the news broadcast they'd seen before his trip had garnered Erik's attention as well. "How far along are Cerebro's repairs?" he asked.

"Well, all the power amplification equipment is back up and running at full capacity, but the tracking functions are still mostly a mess," Hank replied.

"I don't think the tracking functions will be necessary," Charles said. "Considering the stress they are probably under by now, finding them will be the easy part. But I think that at this point, it would probably be safest to make contact in a way that puts no one in physical danger. Once we get to the bottom of things, then maybe a physical meeting."

Hank considered that for a few moments, then shrugged. "Fair enough. I'll get the lot set up."

 

***

 

Full psychic projection had always taken a lot out of him and, given previous uses of the computer, he wasn't entirely sure that Cerebro wouldn't actually make it _worse_. But one never knew unless one tried, right?

Taking a deep breath, he put the helmet on, focusing on his own pulse to get past the initial spike of pain. Once it had evened out into a dull, ignorable throb, he reached out, looking for that sensation he'd felt in the arrow. And found it, a good fifteen miles away from where Hank had reported the disastrous first encounter.

Slowly, carefully, he settled himself down on the opposite riverbank of the one the pair were seated on to dry off, and expanded the projection enough to encompass the area.

The violet-haired telekinetic was the first to notice him, and jumped in surprise. "Where did you-"

"Rarity, who are you talking to?" her companion asked, then she saw him as well and went wide-eyed. "Uh-"

"I'm not here to pick a fight," he said quietly. "I just want to talk to you, that's all."

"Why does your voice sound so strange?" the winged girl asked, suddenly bolder now that she eyed him with suspicion. "Like it's in our heads?"

"There is a connection," he admitted. "However," he clarified when the telekinetic stiffened, "it's a projection, nothing more. You're just as much in control here as I am." The two glanced at each other, apparently deciding how to take that, and as he waited, he noticed something slightly strange. Their projections were almost blurred. _Shifting_. The only time he'd ever seen anything like that before was with Raven. Perhaps... "It wouldn't hold in the real world, but you could even regain your natural forms here," he said, testing his idea.

That seemed to get their interest, at least. "How do we do it?"

"It's all concentration, really. Just remember everything about what you _should_ look like, and the projection will follow the orders."

That got another shared glance, then they squeezed their eyes shut and began to change. Noses lengthened to snouts, fur grew, hooves appeared, tails grew to match their hair, and to his surprise, after a few minutes, a small pale pink and gold pegasus and a white and violet unicorn stood where the two girls had been. The pegasus took hold of her companion and flapped over to his side of the river to land by the chair, and they barely came up to his chest at full height.

"My word," he murmured, recovering from the initial shock. "How did you two-"

"Our friend Twilight wanted to investigate a magical artifact that had recently been discovered," the unicorn said, mouth not moving as she 'talked'. "When we found it, the traps caused the two of us to crash into it, and then we woke up here."

"H-human, of course," the pegasus added, and he felt a small pang in his chest at their expressions.

"No wonder you've been radiating such high stress levels. This world must be a terrible shock for you."

"It's horrid. We're hungry, tired, _filthy_ , and others keep coming after us when we haven't-" The unicorn was clearly about to finish with 'done anything', then cut off, looking down at the grass. The pegasus nuzzled her friend lightly, and she continued. "N-no. No, that's not true. I attacked a colt."

He could feel the specific fear swirling in her mind and gently offered a hand. She allowed him to pet an ear. "If it's any consolation, Sean isn't dead," he said softly, and the hopeful look that got was almost painful. "He's quite unhappy about his injuries, but he'll recover."

"But it wasn't Rarity's fault. That mare- er, woman in white-"

" _What_ woman?" 'Rarity' asked the pegasus, and she made a tiny squeak.

"While... um, while you were sleeping, people came to the cabin."

" _Fluttershy_ ," the unicorn said harshly, stamping a front hoof. "Why didn't you _wake_ me? They could have _hurt_ you, or-"

"I- I didn't know they were there a- at first," 'Fluttershy' said quickly, her voice getting quieter and quieter as she quailed under the glare. "And- and then they were talking and I thought I should get you, then I- I figured out the, um, the woman in white was the one who... you- um, you know, made you hurt somebody. And I didn't want you to- to have to see her. Then they left. Um. I might have hit her. Once."

Rarity blinked, looking surprised and perhaps a little gratified. "Oh. Well, then. That's... quite different." She nuzzled her companion, who seemed to perk up a little. "Thank you, darling."

Fluttershy blushed, then seemed to remember they had a visitor. "U- um, may I ask you something?"

"Of course," Charles said, faintly amused.

"When... um, the fuzzy blue one was trying to talk to us, um, before you know what, he said something about being similar. And when the people left the cabin, before they vanished, they were arguing, and the woman with the blue scales said something about how 'we don't force our own'. What's that supposed to mean?"

A part of him was relieved to hear about Raven. If she was trying to police situations like this, then Erik must still have been relying on recruitment, not outright conscription. Trying to focus on the task at hand before the distraction could break the projection, he coughed lightly. "Well, it has to do with your abilities. I don't know what the standards are where you come from, but here, wings and being able to make objects float and bend to your will are hardly considered normal."

"And neither would be talking to someone without being there?" Rarity asked, raising an eyebrow, and he smiled.

"Caught. Here, powers are caused by a genetic anomaly. A mutation of sorts."

"Then... it would be like the whole world is made up of earth ponies, and unicorns and pegasus ponies are very rare," Fluttershy said quietly.

"Similar, yes. Not everyone is prepared to handle the truth of our existence, or deal with us living alongside them. I'm sorry to say you got caught in the middle of a rather precarious situation when you were dropped here."

"I'm not sure how to say this without being rude... But we don't want to _be_ in this situation. As you can plainly see, we don't belong here, and we just want to go home." Rarity said.

"It's not rude at all," he said, folding his hands in his lap. "I have a friend who is quite the scientist. If it's still active, he could potentially locate whatever temporal disturbance brought you here. In the meantime, you would be welcome to stay at my school."

"No tricks?" they both asked in unison, one wary and the other nervous.

"No tricks," he promised. "You won't even have to participate in classes if you don't want to. Just think of it as a way station on your route home."

The two had a brief, whispered conference, and he waited patiently.

"We're in."

 

***

 

His head was pounding fiercely when he lifted Cerebro's helmet off, and for a moment, he was distinctly, uncomfortably aware of the need to throw up. Forcing it back, he took a deep breath as his swimming vision began to clear, revealing Hank hovering over him worriedly.

"We're going to have some temporary guests," he said weakly, raking sweat-soaked hair out of his face. "Get a transport ready to go pick them up."

"You sure you're in any condition for a retrieval?"

He levered himself easily back into his chair. "Their fears and discomfort concerning us are quite valid. Given their situation, I think it's best I go as a reassurance measure."

"Fine. Should I round up the others?"

"Not this time. Sean's still in recovery, Alex will hardly go over well, and the other students are still too green. The two of us should be enough. And we'd best bring a fairly large lunch as well."

 

***

 

"You're joking."

"I assure you, it's perfectly safe," Hank said, but the pair were still balking at getting on the plane.

"It's a _metal bird_ that opens up, _of course it's not safe._ "

"Look, we came up here in it, and we're fine, see?"

"Isn't there some other way you could have gotten here?"

"Not as quickly- little help here?" Charles' companion asked, looking up at him.

"I don't know, you seem to be doing an admirable coaxing job as it is," he said, unable to help teasing just a tiny bit. When the other mutant gave him a clearly petulant look, however, he leaned out the window. "Girls, this was built by my friend here. You know, the one who's going to help you get home? Don't you think you should trust his skill a little before then?"

The pair glanced at each other, and Fluttershy made a terrified squeak and immediately clung to Rarity's arm, but it was enough to convince them to at least get on. Hoping to help them calm down a little for the flight, they'd left the boxes with food in them in the girls' seats. It worked long enough for them to get buckled in and the pre-flight checklist to be run again, but as soon as they lifted off, the two were clinging tightly to each other.

Only once they'd touched down in Westchester did either let go of the other, and he motioned that they could bring the lunchboxes with them as they disembarked. He also noticed the curious glances both furtively shot at the chair once it was in motion, but neither asked and he felt no need to elaborate unprompted. "The kitchen is open to you both, and you're free to move about the house, except for the infirmary and the training areas."

"Are they marked?" Fluttershy asked after swallowing a bite of peanut butter sandwich.

"Clearly, so you won't have to worry about accidentally wandering in. You're also welcome to explore the grounds a bit while we get your rooms ready."

"Thank you."

 

***

 

They finished eating and, after a long bath and a brushing, Fluttershy went outside for a bit. While she had admittedly grown a little tired of living outdoors, at least now there was the knowledge that she had somewhere to go back to, and so she could enjoy her surroundings a little more.

There weren't very many animals about, but she did find some robins and a little field mouse to make friends with before a little dark-coated filly with a white mane came to tell her that the rooms were ready. Following her inside, Fluttershy noticed she seemed... tense. "Did I do something wrong?" she asked, wondering if it was about the mouse that had been on her shoulder when the filly arrived.

"Oh. No. I am new here as well," the filly replied hesitantly, her accent fairly thick. Then she held out a hand. "Ororo."

She accepted. "Fluttershy. Um...my parents were a little odd," she lied when the filly gave her a questioning look. That seemed to be explanation enough, and Ororo finally smiled a bit, guiding her upstairs.

The room she was shown to was comfortable and homey, with a big soft bed and a door that connected it to Rarity's room. And a very large bookshelf, which she was sure Twilight would have squealed over, had she been here. Checking the other room and up and down the hall, she couldn't find Rarity at all, and her little guide had probably gone back downstairs.

Well... she _was_ allowed to roam the house...

When she finally located Rarity, the other mare was staring through a large window at an even bigger room below, where some kind of fight seemed to be going on. "He said not to go in the training areas."

"We're not in a training area, we're in a hallway," Rarity replied, and she noticed the dull tone in her friend's voice. Concerned, she peeked over the other mare's shoulder, and immediately saw why. The colt who'd been shot down was in the room and trying to participate, but he was clearly having trouble and in pain.

"I'll be quite all right, darling," Rarity murmured when Fluttershy leaned against her, but she didn't quite sound like she expected anyone to believe it. Fluttershy found that these new hoov- hands were quite comfortable for entwining, and just settled closer. She wished there was something she could do, just to distract her friend from her guilt for awhile.

Then she remembered Ororo, and got an idea.

 

***

 

The study was easy to find, and she was careful to knock before poking her head in. The professor looked up from a pile of paperwork at his desk. "Oh, hello. Come in."

Mindful of her wings, she edged in and closed the door. "Um, I know you've given us a lot already, but, um, I was wondering if I could make a tiny request."

"I'm listening."

"Well, um, if it's not too much trouble then whenever the next supplies come in, or someone goes shopping... could we have some fabric and sewing supplies?"

"I don't see why not. I am curious what you need them for, though. Do you need different clothes?"

"What? Oh, no, the ones in the closets were fine, it's just... I think Rarity needs something to think about that's not what happened. I mean, _I_ can always visit the animals outside, but she's... And back home, she was one of the biggest clothing designers in town, so..."

"I see. Just give me a list of things you need, and I'll put them down on the agenda."

She perked up at the thought that her plan might work after all. "Okay!"

 

***

 

It took two days, a lot of having to sneak around her friend, and some assistance from Ororo and a little red-maned filly named Jean, but the look on Rarity's face when she was brought to her temporary work room was worth it. By the time the professor came to check on them, Jean was gleefully spinning around in a new gown that made her much resemble Philomena, and objects were flying about the room as Rarity worked on a companion dress for Ororo.

Fluttershy smiled as Xavier rolled over to sit by her. "This seems to be going rather swimmingly," he said as he observed the barely-contained chaos.

"Oh, yes. Most of the others have already made themselves scarce, but she did offer a new suit to your friend when he came by earlier. He said no."

He chuckled faintly. "At least for the time I've known him, Hank was never one for very elaborate clothing, even before the fur."

"His loss!" Rarity sang gaily as she breezed past, the two girls and a stream of pincushions and ribbon trailing behind her.

"She seems to be doing much better."

"Mmhmm," Fluttershy said, resting her chin in her hooves. "I don't know how _long_ it will last, since she's still avoiding...um... _him_ , but it's nice to see her back to her old self even for a little while. And the girls are enjoying themselves too."

"Indeed. I'll leave you all to it, then. I'm afraid I have a few things that need to be caught up on."

 

***

 

Three days later, Fluttershy wasn't so sure her plan was still a good one. While Rarity seemed to be enjoying her work while she was doing it, she was starting to stress uncomfortably over small details afterward. They had ended up sharing one room because it was more comfortable, but more than once, Fluttershy had also woken up to see her friend pacing.

So she was relieved when their host finally called them into one of the laboratories with the news that Hank had discovered the source of their predicament.

At least until the scientist began explaining it. At "considering the position of it and the slingshot effect that would have taken place for the two of you to end up where you did relative to it, it's quite a miracle that you aren't _dead_ ," she went ash white and reclaimed her spot clinging to Rarity's foreleg.

"So...how does this help us get _home_?" Rarity asked, also looking a little pale.

"Well, considering the fact that it's still registering as a void in all search equipment, the portal must still be there and must still be acting as a gateway. Since it hasn't moved an inch in my window of observation, however, that more or less kills any chance of bringing it to you. We'll have to take you to it."

"I- I can't fly that high," Fluttershy said quickly.

"Well, you won't have to. It would be much easier to do an aerial drop over the target point. That way you'll only have to control yourself going _down_ instead of straining yourself trying to get _up_."

That didn't sound any better. Oh, Celestia, that didn't sound any better. But she had to admit that Rarity wasn't the only one who'd been suffering the uncomfortable pangs of homesickness. If this was the only way to do it, then... "Okay," she said hesitantly, grateful for Rarity's reassuring squeeze. "Okay. We'll do it."

 

***

 

Agreeing to do this and actually _doing_ this were ponies of entirely different colors, Fluttershy later thought as they huddled nervously in the back of the plane. Rarity had altered a couple of what their hosts called 'flight suits' to fit, and had braided their manes to keep them out of the way during the drop. The humans had given them some sort of saddlebags called 'parachutes' to use if they missed the portal, and goggles. "Eeeeeee, I don't think I can do this."

"Just think of all the cute little animals who miss you," Rarity said as she tied off the braid, and that helped a tiny bit. They both got up as Xavier rolled over.

"We're almost over the drop zone," he said, giving her hoof a squeeze. "I could dampen your fear, if it would help."

"I- I'm grateful for the offer," Fluttershy said. "But I think I better go without."

"Understood."

"Um, if you... I'm being a little bit of a coward at the moment, but could you...?" Rarity asked, and the man smiled.

"I'll pass along your apology to Sean." They both leaned down to hug him. "Good luck and godspeed, you two."

"Thank you," they both replied. "A- And good luck to you and the students as well," Fluttershy added softly. Once he had gone back to the main part of the plane, they entwined hooves and held their breath, waiting for the light above them to turn green as a signal to get into position.

When it did, they shifted over to the hatch and Rarity nestled herself into the space between Fluttershy's wings, one foreleg around the waist and one around the neck. "You can do this."

"I really hope so."

Unfortunately, the pep talk wasn't enough. When the hatch dropped and they tumbled out into the open blue, her stomach dropped faster than they did and her wings locked up as terror washed over her. Parachutes or no parachutes, she'd never fallen this fast from this high in her _life_ , and-

She was suddenly aware of the forelegs around her tightening desperately, and remembered she wasn't the _only_ one facing this kind of fear for the second time. And that was enough to make her start flapping. She'd managed to carry her friend once, and she was going to do it now.

" _There_!" Rarity called close to her ear, but she couldn't see until the other mare freed the foreleg around her neck and pointed. Even with the goggles, she had to squint against the wind, but, following the line of Rarity's foreleg, she could just barely make out what looked like an actual _rip_ in the sky below and south of them. Biting her tongue, she banked and headed for it as best she could.

They could only hope for the best as they reached out to touch it and the sky and everything around them went milky green again.

 

***

 

Rarity winced at the bright sunlight that met her eyes when she hesitantly cracked them open. With a faint groan, she lifted a hoof to block it-

-and found it was a hoof again. And she could feel her tail. And her coat. _And her horn._ Rolling onto her front, she lifted her head and recognized the high arches and decorated windows of Princess Celestia's palace in Canterlot. "Fluttershy!"

The mare beside her groaned and tried to bury her face under a pillow, but Rarity reached over and shook her. "Darling, wake up! You _did it_! We're _home_!"

Fluttershy hesitantly peeked out from under the cushion, then her head shot up. "We- we're back. We're _back_! We're _us_!"

Before they could start celebrating, a door opened, and they were suddenly mobbed with hugs and a thousand questions and apologies by their friends. Only when Princess Celestia herself entered did things calm down a little. "You two seem to have had _quite_ the adventure," she said, indicating the pile of cloth that had been their suits and parachutes.

"It's been a very long trip home, your Highness," Fluttershy said, and Rarity nodded agreement.

"In our much younger days, my sister and I used to go visiting other worlds to see what curiosities they held. Because of duties, it's been a _very_ long while since I've been able to do so. I would be interested in hearing all about your experience."

Rarity felt her stomach knot in that sickeningly heavy nervous guilt that she'd become so well-acquainted with in the last several days, unsure how to admit to the princess that one of the element bearers, even under another's will, had carried out her actions. As if sensing her unease, however, the princess smiled benignly.

"But that can wait. I'm sure you're itching to go home with your friends and family. You can visit me to tell me about it when you're ready."

"Thank you, your highness," Rarity said gratefully, and all ponies bowed as they left the princess' presence.

"You guys, I am _so. Sorry_ ," Twilight said as they walked out to a chariot waiting to take them home to Ponyville. "If there had been anything in my research to indicate the statue would do something like _that_ , I _never_ would have-"

"There's nothing to apologize for, really," Rarity said, trying to mask her earlier discomfort under an airier attitude.

"She's right," Fluttershy agreed. "You didn't know."

"But you're _back_ , and that's the _important_ thing," Pinkie cut in, and Rarity tuned her out for the rest of the ride home, well aware that this was going to end in 'party.'

 

***

 

The first night had been fine. Exhausted from the party and Sweetie Belle's exuberant welcome home, Rarity had slept deep and not dreamed at all.

Subsequent nights weren't so peaceful.

Rarity looked at the empty quiver lying innocently in her closet, then sighed and rested her head on her forelegs. The supplies for new arrows were already waiting for her in one of her workrooms, but she just... _couldn't_. Every time she tried to picture one of the targets she used, instead her mind's eye saw that colt plummeting into the trees, his cloth wings in tatters.

Her beautiful art used for such a base, barbaric purpose, and now it was sullied with shreds of cloth and her own guilt.

With no new orders to fill and Sweetie Belle at school, she had little to do but mope, and it was driving her up the wall. She had to go do _something_. Maybe a walk. That would clear her mind a bit.

Gracefully sliding off her bed and heading downstairs, she penned a quick note in case her sister arrived home before she did, and went out.

Suddenly finding herself staring at a target several minutes later, she wondered if she shouldn't have put a bit more thought into _where_ she was going to _go_. Biting back another sigh, she stared at it morosely.

Then jumped a little when something thumped down next to her. Blinking, she looked down to find a ragged leather quiver full of arrows. Normal ones, not her personal make. "Wha-?"

"I got them from Little Strong Heart," Fluttershy said softly as the pegasus landed next to her. "I wasn't sure who else would have any."

Rarity bit her lip against the small knot that formed in her chest. "I appreciate the effort, darling, but I-" She cut off as Fluttershy leaned against her, providing a warm, comforting weight. Swallowing, she took a slow, deep breath. "I don't- I don't know if I _can_."

"You know, I often heard from the squirrels about you coming out here," Fluttershy murmured. "I was always so busy in the mornings, but I always hoped I'd eventually get the chance to watch."

The knot loosened, becoming a fainter, warmer feeling. "Really?"

"They always made it sound so graceful and pretty. Show me?"

Rarity felt her face heat a little as that knot loosened a bit more. "I- I'll try."

The other pony nuzzled her gently, then moved away. Squaring her shoulders, Rarity picked up the quiver and made her way to a faraway spot. She didn't have her binoculars with her this time, and she could already feel the difference in arrow weight, but she'd manage. Selecting an arrow, she braced herself and closed her eyes.

 _Breathe._

 _Pull._

 _Release._


End file.
